This is a play on one of my other stories, A Certain Saint of Darkness. I'm reduing that story. I hope you enjoy this one.

Overview: Bella Swan is created into the Voluri family. Aro keeps her as a source to protect his coven. The Cullen's come for a visit, seeking Aro's help to get rid of a vampire rise in Port Angeles. During their stay, a few weeks, Edward becomes interested in Bella. They grow a friendship, they fall in love and then he decides he's going to help her escape the Volturi. Lots coming. I hope you enjoy. And please REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I am not the creator of the Twilight Series. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just like borrowing her characters.

Prologue

We had one law, one we must all abide by; one that could never be broken. Our secrecy. No human was allowed to know our secret, but we broke that promise. And as we ran, swiftly through the long planes of yellow grass, the sunlight beating down on our devil skin sending rainbows across the landscape, I had a feeling we weren't going to make it. But something in our dead hearts kept us running. We ran as fast as we could, streaking forward, running away from what was chasing us. Petrified as we were, we knew our abilities were our best defense. His mind reading, and my shield. Demetri wouldn't be able to find us because he used our decisions as a form of tracking. Like a GPS. My shield would protect our thoughts. But the others were heading in a different direction. I glanced behind me toward the horizon. I could still see them—tiny little glistening dots. Like diamonds. They ran the opposite direction, our friends, our family. Would we lose them forever? Would they be able to get to safety? My beloved urged me forward, his voice deep and frantic. I knew we were running out of time. The sun was at the peak of its height. Right overhead, beating down on us. I heard the large clock in the middle of the square boom – and somewhere, far in the distance, a woman screamed.

Chapter 1 – Birth

St. Marcus Day was alive and in full throttle, filled with hundreds of people dancing and chanting together in all their glory. My Arizona friend, Lily, danced with me; our arms tangled as we shook our hips and tossed our hair about. The Palazzo dei Priori really was a magical place. I didn't regret the decision to come with my junior class. I was so proud to be one of the many crazed people standing in the center square of this beautiful stone city of Volterra, Italy.

The sky was black with night, but the afternoon heat continued to radiate through the orange stone ground and ignite my body. I was full of life. All around me was the pulsating drums from the ominous music. People were dressed in red shirts or gowns with red satin cloaks and plastic fangs. It was the first time I understood how the world could be beautiful, where everyone could be as one, even if they happen to celebrate vampires.

Lily pulled angrily on my arm. I had stopped dancing to gaze around at the stone walls and the large clock the lamp posts now illuminated. Just ten more minutes before midnight and the party was still well into it. I was mesmerized by the atmosphere. Everyone was in a trance, moving to the music.

"What's wrong, Bella?" she shouted to me over the uproar of screaming and laughing voices all around us.

I shook my head and continued to dance. After all, there wasn't much to say. I felt like I was in a scene from a book, somewhere magical and beautiful. Like a fairytale. But unfortunately, like all fairytales, they soon come to an end, and my end wasn't anything beautiful.

And it was then, out in the distance of the night, a woman's earsplitting scream shot through the party like a gunshot. Everything stopped. The people in their strange articles of clothing and glistening white fangs stood silently as they listened. I glanced around at the many sweaty alarmed faces, all of us trying to hear past the music. Children, parents, teenagers, even grandparents. Everyone from this city and others had come for the celebration. But now we all stood, staring at one another, utterly alarmed and frightened. The music began to slow, losing its combined rhythm until it died all together. The musicians must have noticed the now still, silent audience. A few men shoved past me, moving through the crowd of people. They wore beige uniforms and black hats, with silver badges. The Volterra police. They pushed through the crowd investigating. I looked over at Lily. She had gotten her face painted earlier today, a series of tribal designs along the length of her face. They were smudged now, mixing with the sweat from her face, creating a stream of black that dripped from her chin.

So many things happened at once. The crowd of people started moving, running in every direction. More screams echoed against the stone walls. Something was happening, but I didn't know what. I gazed around frantically, searching for my friend Lily. She was right next to me a moment ago, but now she was nowhere in sight. A large man thrust hard into my shoulder, knocking me to the ground. I screamed out in surprise and in pain as my rear hit the stone ground. I got up quickly and starred around. Where was Lily? A man was suddenly thrown out of the crowed. His body was up in the air, flying up and away from the running people, and then he hit the side of the city wall. Blood splattered from his body and onto the wall as he slid down towards the earth. It looked almost black in the evening light. Terrified, I set off at a sprint, running anywhere that would lead away from the square. I saw a narrow passage between two large buildings and ran towards it, dodging men, women and children as they ran franticly looking for an escape.

The air was cooler here, much more rough, and it blew my long hair around my damp face. The cool air sent a chill up my spine. Everything was black, everything but the lampposts that glared like fire at the center of the city. I stood alone and terrified, starring at the mass of people running chaotically in every direction, frightened from something I couldn't see. But I knew it was there. The thing that people were running from was the very thing that had thrown that man into the air. Unworldly. Warm tears ran down my cheeks as I continued to search the faces of people running past the passage where I hid. Every face was a stranger to me. Where was my junior class? Where was my instructor? Where was Lily?

A slight tingling on the back of my neck had me spinning around in surprise. I felt eyes watching me, invisible eyes from somewhere in the abyss of black behind me. I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision, and starred blindly as I waited for movement. I couldn't see anything, and I couldn't hear anything. But I was sure something was there, lurking.

"Hello?" I called, but my voice was barely louder than a whisper.

I was about to turn around and face the screaming crowd again when a soft growl echoed through the black passage. It was a gurgling sound that raised every hair on my body. And it definitely wasn't human. The sound was so close, too close, and I gasped, taking a step back towards the orange light from the city. My eyes were wide, starring into the darkness, trying to see the creature. Something evil and unknown awaited me where my eyes didn't reach. I could feel it in my stomach and in my heart. Danger was only a few paces in front of me, and it was waiting for the moment to attack. Instinctively, I turned my back to the darkness, preparing to run.

Unfortunately, before I was even able to take my first step, something with impeccable power hit me square in the chest. And then I was soaring through blackness, away from the light, away from life and my escape. My body smacked into the stone wall that awaited me out in the distance, and the crack from my skull echoed through my head. As I lay motionless on the hard floor, I knew death was only seconds away. My body was broken; I knew that because I was unable to move. Every part of my body was in pain, and it was the worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life. I let out a soft whimper. My eyes fluttered open, but I couldn't see straight. I was blinded by my tears and blood that trickled into my eyes, and there was a searing pain in my forehead. As my vision cleared, I was able to make out the black liquid that began to pool around my face and awkwardly positioned arm. The smell of rust and salt burned my nose. There was a frantic thudding in my ears. It was the sound of my pulse, the adrenaline urging my heart to keep beating.

As I lay there, bleeding and broken, I heard my mother's voice in my head. 'Be safe, Bella,' she told me as we stood face to face in the crowded terminal. 'Bring yourself home safely to me. I love you.'

My chest sent wave of pain as I coughed out a cry. "Help," I tried to say, but I was now choking on my own blood.

I coughed again and sobbed silently. I was dying, and I was sorry for not bringing myself home to her. I was sorry I couldn't see her one last time. My mother. My best friend. But I guessed life worked that way sometimes. Most people don't get to choose when they would live or die. Truth be told, I wasn't even sure what it was that tried to kill me, but things like that don't matter when you're dying.

I shut my eyes, and prepared myself; knowing this was a sleep I wouldn't wake from. My hearing had gone, for the beating of my heart masked all sounds. It slowed now, and so I lay there, bloody and broken beyond repair and waiting for the drum of my heart to make its final beat.

But suddenly, a fire ignited in my throat. A burning through the numb barrier my body had created for its own protection. And before long, a fire started in my left arm and then my right, my left leg and then my right leg. I was on fire, burning at the stake, but somehow more painful than I would have thought possible. Moments ago I had been so sure I was dying, but this couldn't be death. It all hurt too much to be death. And though I had thought that I had already felt the worst pain imaginable when I had hit the stone wall, this was, if possible, far worse. Seconds ago I was making my peace with death, accepting it, but now I lay, unable to move, screaming in pain.

I screamed as the acid seeped and burned through my veins, but I couldn't find my mouth. I wanted to claw at my scalding skin, to rip the burning pieces from my body, but I couldn't find my hands. And so I lay there, burning and tormented. Tortured for some horrible unknown sin I must have made during my youth. Was this hell? Somewhere in my subconscious, a voice answered 'yes', for what else could explain the fire and pain.

The burning lasted longer than I was ready for. How long had I been burning; hours, days, weeks, months, years? It burned away my skin, along with my thoughts. I burned until my everything became nothing but fire. I felt my bones break and rebuild over and over. I felt my skin burn away and then reform. I felt the blood in my veins bubble like scalding hot liquid. Every ounce of pain, over and over, burning and burning forever. But it wouldn't last forever because suddenly the burning slackened. It was definitely still there, but less prominent in my fingers. I had found my fingers. And then it began to withdraw from my toes. I didn't even know I still had toes. The pain even began to recede from my calf's and my arms and then finally my head; from everything except my chest which continued to blaze along with my still beating heart. But slowly, that pain began to recede too.

When the pain had stopped all together, it was replaced with a faint burning in my throat, as if I had been screaming constantly for days. With a shock, I realized my heart had stopped as well, and I knew I was dead. But was I really dead? Was this what death was like? I could feel every muscle in my body, more prominent than I ever remembered. And even my senses seemed to have evolved. I could smell and taste strange fragrances in the air. And I could hear someone or something breathing. It belonged to something very close beside me; to the thing I could now taste on the back of my tongue.

"I assume the fire has stopped," a low voice said. It was deep, unfriendly, and very unfamiliar.

I didn't respond. I didn't even want to open my eyes.

"You can speak now," the voice said impatiently.

"Am I dead?" I asked. My voice didn't sound like my own. It was clear and soft, more elegant perhaps. I was surprised it came out so clear, for there was still the flicker of a flame in my throat.

"Far from it," the person beside me said. His voice was low, like the base to a wind chime, but with a slight accent, and it rang out beautifully. "I am Felix," he continued. "Come, and you can meet our master."

There was a long pause, in which I continued to stay silent and he continued to wait for a response. I was afraid, afraid to move, and I felt parched, thirstier than I'd ever felt before. How long had I been away?

"Open your eyes," the man, Felix, said.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I focused on the little specks of dust that swirled before me, and then my eyes adjusted on a face to my right. Felix. He was big and tall with thick rounded shoulders, dark brown hair and he looked to have an olive type complexion under his pale chalky skin. But out of all of these characteristics, only one thing held my gaze. Felix's eyes were a dark burgundy as he stared at me, unblinking.

"Up," he said. "Our master is waiting for you."

I rose carefully. I had been laying on a metal operating table. Looking down at my body, I noticed I wore a midnight blue silk gown, with thin straps that fell to the middle of my thigh and no shoes. I slid off of the table and followed Feix out into the hall.

"Where are we?" I asked quietly.

"Volterra, Italy," he said.

I was surprised by his answer. Volterra, Italy. This meant that I had never left. What happened to me? Did Felix save me from the creature? But then I remembered Felix's red eyes. Was he the creature?

As I walked behind Felix, trailing after is dark grey cloak, I observed the dark stone walls as we walked down a long narrow hallway. There were no windows and the air felt very still and thick. I momentarily wondered if we were underground. There were small lamps that lined the hallway, the only source of light available. As we moved from room to room and hallway to hallway, I noticed that most rooms were decorated with a Victorian influenced style. Old, but glamorous. And every room and hallway we passed was empty. We walked for a very long time, maybe a mile, when I realized I wasn't even tired though Felix and I walked at very quick pace. After laying down from what seemed like years, I expected my legs to feel weak. But they didn't. They felt strong and ready. And then Felix's pace began to slow. And then he stopped, gesturing to a door.

I placed my hand on the golden knob and entered. I entered a large dome shaped room. It had high ceilings and fake windows. It was dimly light by torches and lamps along the walls. It looked like a stone court room, but without the seats or desks. The only seats in the room were the three, very large, armchairs at the far back of the room; and they were occupied by three very white men. Even from this distance my vision worked perfectly. I could clearly see their eyes. All three men stared at me with the same burgundy eyes. Two of the men had long black hair, and one to my right had long white hair. The man in the center gestured for me to move closer.

"Come," he said in high voice. A wide smile spread across his face. He spoke with an accent as well.

I moved slowly forward.

"What is your name, dear one?" he asked as I reached them. The men were seated on a platform that grew a few steps off the ground. I stood just before the platform.

There was a soft click and I saw three new people enter the room from a small door behind the three men. They wore grey cloaks with their hoods up over their heads. The first was a woman, whom was a little shorter than I, but possibly in her late twenties and had light brown hair. The second was a man with dark brown hair. And the third was a litter girl, younger than I, possibly twelve or thirteen years old, very beautiful and childlike with very short blonde hair; and unlike the others, she wore a black cloak.

"My name is Bella," I said.

"Your whole name, my dear," Aro said with a smile.

"Isabella Marie Swan," I said, eyeing the new comers. They stood, flanking Aro's chair. They didn't move.

"Isabella," Aro said, with a strong Italian accent. "Do you know why you are here?"

"No."

"You were attacked by one of my newborn vampires. His name was Charles. My guards—" Aro's eyes flickered to Felix who stood behind me, "—let him slip past the entrance into the city square. He attacked you, dear one. And bit you."

I was frozen. A Vampire… bit me? Could such things exist? They must, for I already knew that I was no longer the same girl I was on my arrival to Volterra, Italy. I wasn't the same girl I had been for 17 years. I was different. My body was different. I didn't need someone to tell me this. I already knew. But was I a vampire?

"Does this mean, I—" But Aro cut me off before I was able to finish my first sentence.

"A Vampire, Ms. Swan." Aro was excited and triumphant, as if this was supposed to be a huge honor.

He suddenly got up from his seat and quickly walked over to me. I studied his face and movements. His eyes were burgundy and his skin looked very pale, just like the others. However, the more I analyzed his skin, the stranger it became. His skin looked to be as thin as paper, dry and translucent. It frightened me.

"May I?" he asked as he held out his hand for me to grasp.

I hesitated. But he smiled reassuringly, so I reached out and placed my hand into his. As soon as he touched me, something strange happened. I was suddenly wrapped in a thin transparent bubble that glowed around me. It was so thin and light that I knew I was the only one to see it. I knew this because I felt it, inside of me. It was part of me. A kind of shield. It swayed where Aro touched me, and wrapped itself around my fingers, clinging to my skin and away from him. It didn't penetrate his skin.

Aro looked up at me; the excitement had left his eyes. He looked at me with a strange and upset expression as he gently rubbed my hand.

"I see nothing," he announced to those standing behind him. And he dropped my hand. Immediatley, the bubble faded and disappeared. "You seem to have powers that exceed my own," he continued. "Tell me, young one, do you have a gift of which repels my powers?"

"A gift?" I asked.

"Yes. A power that protects your mind? You see, with just one touch, I am able to see and relive every thought that has ever crossed the mine of that significant person I touch. It all happens in my head," he gestured to his temple. "But when I touch you, I see nothing."

"Well, I suppose I do have a gift then," I said. "The only way I can describe it is, it is like a bubble, a type of shield that clings to my skin, as if it's a subconscious desire to protect my mind. I saw it when you touched me."

Aro stared at me for a moment, speculating. "We shall see if it works on all of our thoughts. Jane?"

The girl, the childlike one, walked forward. Lowering her hood, she stared at me as she took her place beside Aro. A small smile curled the edge of her lips. Again, the bubble appeared, wrapping itself around me. Starring at Jane, feeling rather confident that her powers wouldn't penetrate me either, I watched has her expression twisted into shock and anger.

Aro burst out laughing. Jane shot him an angry snarl.

"Don't be upset Jane, its all in good fun. After all, Isabella is one of us now." Aro leaned forward and placed his large hands on my shoulders. In a low, powerful voice he said, "you will be of great use to me, Isabella."

Later that day, Aro began teaching me how to control my power while discussing our vampire history with me. He told me that my new coven, the Volturi, is the largest and most powerful vampire coven in the world. The Volturi are who enforce the vampire laws, those of which we all must abide by. One of those laws is that for no reason, no matter what, every vampire must keep our existence a secret from humans. The Volturi are considered vampire royalty, and there are now six core members; Aro, his wife Sulpicia, Caius and his wife Athenodora, Marcus and now me, Aro's new daughter. He told me that our coven is a very powerful group, full of many vampires with special abilities, including my own. Me even made it seem as if my ability was possibly the most powerful of all.

As the day grew later, and the burning in my throat became more intense, Aro sent Felix and Demetri to town to bring me some 'food to eat'. A few hours later, while standing in the large dome room with Aro, Jane and her twin brother Alec, Felix and Demetri entered the room accompanied by ten human strangers. The humans walked slowly into the room, looking bewildered and frightened; I heard their heartbeats before I smelled them. As soon as I caught their scent I backed away towards the furthest wall, horrified. Their scent burned in my nose and throat, causing the Vampire venom to flow thick in my mouth. I threw a hand over my nose, I didn't have to breathe.

"Bella," Aro said. "Come here dear child. Your dinner awaits."

I shook my head frantically.

"Isabella," Aro said again in a dangerous low voice, "to deny feeding is to deny what we are. You wouldn't wish to do that now, would you? You don't want to make me angry, Isabella."

I swallowed hard. I removed my hand from my nose and took a deep breath. I low growl rippled through me, starting at the base of my stomach and tearing its way up and through my mouth. A young girl screamed and tried to run for the door. My immediate instinct was to lunge at her, but I recoiled and turned my face towards the wall, covering my nose once more. I couldn't do it. My will power shied away from my instincts. I didn't want to feed. I couldn't eat a human.

"Isabella," Aro said again, "do it. Now."

Felix was by my side within seconds, grabbing hold of my arm, and forcing me away from the wall.

"You heard our master's orders. Feed," his voice growled into my ear.

Felix griped my wrist so tightly, I thought it might brake beneath his grasp. My eyes met Aro's and he nodded once. I had no choice. I turned and bit the closest person to me; a fifty year old man preparing to run. I closed my mind of all emotion as I drank the man's blood in deeply. The burning in my throat ceased. I fed only once and didn't drink again. Aro couldn't scold or punish me. I did what he asked and fed. From that day forward, I fed only once as they brought groups of human's in every week. Aro didn't like this, and he continued to try to encourage me to feed on more than one person to guarantee me a quenched appetite, but I ignored him. I couldn't stand feeding from human beings, seeing my ghastly red eyes mirrored in theirs, hearing their pulse fade to nothing as I took their lives. I was a monster, the devil. And Aro kept me because I was valuable. Because I could protect his coven. Not physically, but I could protect their minds from unwanted supernatural powers.

After a couple of weeks of living with Aro, life became a routine. Every night I stayed in a large room by Aro's side as he played chess with Caius, his brother, the blonde. He wanted me close to him, his 'child', he called me. I was his new daughter.

Demetri walked into the room just then.

"Master," Demetri said. "We have guests. The Cullen's are here to see you." Demetri had a strange power. He was a tracker. He could track any person, alive or dead. His powers worked mainly on the mind of the person he is tracking, the decisions they make. He catches the tenor of their thoughts and can use it over incredible distances. He could find someone from anywhere in the world. He tested his skills on me one evening, but due to my protective shield, he could not find me. Apparently I could block the tenors of my mind.

Aro looked up confused, but with a wide grin. "How lovely," he said in an excited voice. "Come," he said to me.

I raised my black cloak over my head and walked closely behind Aro. Using my powers, I stretched my shield over Aro, protecting him. Aro had told me about the Cullen's, and so I knew they carried with them a 'mind reader.'

"Isabella?" Aro said.

"You are under my protection, Master," I said.

Aro knodded once and continued to walk forward.

We entered the large dome room, closely followed by Caius, Marcus, Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix and his two guards, Chelsea and Afton. We formed a line and I stood closest to Aro as he seated himself in the center throne chair. My powers were to be used only to protect Aro, because he didn't want me to 'tire myself' by protecting the entire group. As we stood there, waiting, I glanced carefully at Jane, who stood in front of me with Alec, flanking Aro and I for protection. Jane was able to inflict burning pain by deceiving the mind into believing that the person is truly being burned alive. Pain so severe, she can incapacitate any vampire until they are held helpless and cannot protect themselves. I stared at her profile as she stood, staring at her brother. She was extremely dangerous.

The front doors opened then, and in walked a group of vampires I had never seen before. There were four of them. The first was blonde, possibly in his late twenties, and very handsome. I supposed he was the leader of the coven by the way he stood in front of the group, leading them in. The second was also blonde, but was younger with longer hair that waved into his eyes. A girl stood next to him with black hair cropped short, its ends sticking out in random. She was very small and pixie like. Bringing up the rear was a tall thin young man, possibly my age, with bronze hair he wore in a casual disarray. He was very handsome, more handsome that the other two men, and very boyish.

They paused, standing before the platform. The first man, the eldest perhaps, gave a slight bow with his head.

"Aro," the blonde man greeted.

"Carlisle," Aro greeted loudly. Aro stood up from his seat and walked over towards our guests. My shield stretched, protecting him. "And you must be Jasper, Alice and Edward." He reached a hand out and grabbed Carlisle's hand. Carlisle didn't flinch away like I had the first time Aro grabbed my hand, but he didn't look too happy either. His face was like stone.

The youngest boy, Edward, made an odd expression as he gazed at Aro. He frowned slightly, and then his eyes quickly washed over the rest of us until they landed on me. He stared at me for a fraction of a second and then looked away. It was then that I noticed that all of the Cullen's eyes were a strange shade of gold. I glanced at each of them in turn, analyzing their faces. All of them were obviously inhuman, vampires, but had strange golden eyes.

"I see your family has been well, Carlisle," Aro said. "That's nice." Aro's eyes flickered to the three Vampires behind Carlisle. "But you have come to request my services." Aro wasn't asking.

"Yes," said Carlisle. "There has been a recent rise in vampire population in Port Angeles, Washington, very close to our home. There are many newborn vampires terrorizing the city. We request your services, to help us get rid of this group of vampires before it becomes far more out of control. We do not want the people of Forks to become too suspicious. Our secrecy depends on it."

Aro thought this through for a moment, smiling widely at Carlisle. "Of course," Aro said loudly with a soft laugh. "Of course, my dear friend. I will send some reinforcements as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Carlisle said. "It was lovely to see you and your coven again, Aro. We hope to see you again soon." Carlisle gave another small bow before turning.

As soon as Carlisle back was to Aro, Aro reached up and grasped Carlisle's shoulder firmly. Carlisle's coven stiffened.

"Surely you aren't planning to leave so soon," Aro said. "Join us, stay for a few weeks. We have so much catching up to do, my old friend."

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